Summer Break Ends and the Craziness Begins!

Sadly, the Summer Break has come to an end for my girls and I.  **Sigh**

That's one of the downfalls of me going back to a "school year" work schedule. As soon as I get used to being at home all day... BAM! It's gone, and I have to get used to working again. Oh well. I guess it's better than having to work a 9-5 job, five days a week (or more!).

I really can't complain. I only work 3 half days a week.    

** Smile **

Dtr. #1 started back to college today. This was her first day at her NEW college. I am anxious to hear how her day went!! This is her 3rd college, by the way. Poor baby started out at a 2 year Junior College, then transferred to a big university college away from home and has now transferred AGAIN to the university that is close to our home. If the first college had been a 4 year college, she would have stayed there in a heart beat! But, reluctantly... she had to move on.

She We all thought that moving away to a big college and living on her own was the right thing for her to do, but after a year of unhappiness... we realized that it wasn't such a smart choice. So... she is back home, and going to school here.

Dtr. #2 starts back to class tomorrow. She is in her 2nd year of college. This is the first time since my girls were in 1st & 5th Grade, that they have both been in the same school!! ~ CRAZY!!

Although... it will still be like they are in different schools, because that are each at different campus locations because of their majors.

One thing that I haven't figured out is how I am going to manage FEEDING everyone!! We are all on different schedules! We are all coming and going with our various jobs, as well as the girls going to their different classes.

If anyone has any suggestions.... throw them my way!! I would appreciate your ideas!

Bucket List #79-81

WOW!! We're coming into the last 20, folks!!

#79 --- Delete old files in my computer --- I don't know about you... but, these build up in my computer, and every now and then.... I MUST delete them. As I told you before, this list was first made a couple of years ago. I must have needed to do it then, and I STILL need to do this! In fact... I think I DID do this since I first made this list, but I really do need to do it again!

#80 --- Lose 30lbs and keep it off! --- This may sound EASY to some of you, but let me tell you.... It is NOT EASY at all for some of us!! According to all the nutrition books that I read -- (Yes, I read about being healthy ALL the time!) -- for my height and body structure.... a "healthy" weight for me is between 107 and 135. Well, I think if I weighed 107... I would look sick and UNhealthy!! My first goal is to get to 135. Then, if I can get there.... I would like to keep going and try to make it to 125, even tho I think I will look just FINE at 135!! But, getting to 130 or 125, would give me a little "room" in case I "over indulge" on occasions - *smile*. I would like to mention that when I first wrote this list... I DID need to lose 30lbs, but..... drum roll please.... I have already lost close to 10lbs of that 30!! WAHOOO!!!!

#81 --- Get in better physical shape --- I used to HATE LOATHE to exercise, but now... I really do enjoy it. This is because I have finally (just in the past couple of years) found things that I "enjoy" doing. I LOVE to ride my bike! But, I only enjoy this when the weather is cool. I can not... I repeat..... CAN NOT... do this in the Summer heat & humidity that we have here in Georgia! Nope. Can't do it.

Recently, we bought a Wii and a Wii Fit Plus, for me - *Smile*. I LOVE my Wii Fit Plus!!! It makes exercising FUN! Yes... I said, FUN!! I also bought another game for the Wii that is a DANCING game. I LOVE it, too!! It is great fun and quite a cardio work out!! So, that is what I've been doing this Summer. I am anxious for the weather to cool down tho, so I can get back to bike riding. I really miss it.

But, back to my original thought here.... I want to continue to exercise, so that I can continue to be in good physical health!

The ULTIMATE place to ride... THE BEACH!!!

HIDA Scan or Microscope??

Today, I had a HIDA Scan done. Wondering what that is??? -- I had to look it up, myself!


Here's what I found out, via The Mayo Clinic's website:

HIDA scan is an imaging procedure that helps your doctor track the production and flow of bile from your liver to your small intestine. Bile is a fluid produced by your liver that helps your digestive system break down fats in the foods you eat.

A HIDA scan, which stands for hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan, creates pictures of your liver, gallbladder, biliary tract and small intestine.

A HIDA scan can also be called cholescintigraphy, hepatobiliary scintigraphy or hepatobiliary scan.

A HIDA scan is a type of imaging study called a nuclear medicine scan. This means the HIDA scan uses a radioactive chemical or tracer that helps highlight certain organs on the scan.

The reason that I had to have this scan, is because I started having pain in my upper abdomen 2 weeks ago, after eating dinner. Since then, my doctor is having me go thru tests to see if my gall bladder is functioning properly. You can read my previous post about this HERE.

This HIDA SCAN was a "doozy"!! I had no idea what to expect, other than I knew that they injected you with radioactive "stuff" in order for the scan "thingy" to be able to SEE your gall bladder.

Here's my experience ---

The nurse lady (I'm not sure what to call her!) walked me into a room with a gurney-type bed / stretcher and tells me to lie down. She asks me to hand her my left arm. She then tells me that she is going to "stick" me in order to inject the "stuff" into me. (I am clueless when it comes to medical terms! Forgive me!)

Well, she STUCK me... but, she couldn't find a vein! So... she turned my "gurney" around and STUCK me in the right arm. This time... THANKFULLY!.... she found a vein. Whew!

I didn't know it at the time, but she had also injected the "stuff" into me.

She then pulls this big, round "drum-looking thing" over my abdomen and tells me that she'll be back & forth, checking on me while this "thing" takes pictures.

Here's a pic that I found when I did a search on Bing for a HIDA Scan. I guess this person found it FUN, since they are actually "waving" to the person taking the photo!

It wasn't bad... But I, personally, didn't find it quite THIS FUN!

So, picture this.... here I am.... just LYING there, while the "nurse-lady" comes and checks on my every 10 mins, so.

"You doin' ok?" ... she asks.  "Yes. I'm fine. Thank you." ... I say.

I felt like a specimin under a GIANT MICROSCOPE! --- Really! I did!!! Here's another picture of the "machine" ---

This photo makes this "machine" look small, but it wasn't. You can tell by the photo at the top, how big it is! One time... as I was lying there BORED OUT OF MY MIND... I looked up at the square part of the machine and saw the "Brand" name. It said.... ORBITER. I thought that was kinda' funny!

As I'm lying there, in this silent room (yes... SILENT!)... all I can see without "moving" my head, is PART of the ceiling. I say "part" because my view was rather obstructed by this big round "drum thingy"! I can tell you how many ceiling tiles there were - 35. I can also tell you how many florescent lights there were - 6. I can also tell you how many air vents there were - 2. I can also tell you how many sprinkler's there were (in case of a fire) - 4. ....... NOW WHERE'S THE FRICKIN' SCREEN SO THAT I CAN SEE WHAT MY *$#$%* GALL BLADDER LOOKS LIKE!! This is what starts going thru my mind after I've "counted" all that I can count!

Without "moving" my body... since I was told to lie still --- yeah, right! --- I strained my neck around enough so that I finally found the screen DIRECTLY BEHIND ME with the "pictures" that this "thingy" was taking of my body. This is what I saw....

Ok... Ya. I see it!!! That's my gall bladder! --- No. I don't see it. I strained my neck for THIS!! UGH!!

As time went by... and as the nurse-lady came in and out, I would occasionally strain my neck again to see if the "picture" changed any. Finally, I asked the nurse-lady what she was looking for in the "pictures". She said that she was waiting for my gall bladder to "show up" in the picture. Ok... I felt better. SHE DIDN'T SEE IT EITHER!!

More time went by... and I began to see a change in the picture.....

I started FREAKING OUT! -- "Am I PREGANT???? Please, oh please, don't let me be pregant!!"

The nurse-lady came back in and announced that my gall bladder was starting to "show up". I didn't tell her my "pregnant" thoughts. I didn't want to appear stupid or anything. I just said... "Oh good." and breathed a sigh of relief! Whew!

Ok... so far, I have felt perfecly FINE while this "drum thingy" is taking it's pictures. BUT.... little did I know... she wasn't done injecting me with STUFF! (Again, I apologize for not knowing the correct medical name, but "stuff" works just as well, for me!)

This time, tho... she injected it slowly and told me that I would probably feel it. This "stuff" was to make my gall bladder contract so that they could take "pictures" of it while it did so. It was really weird, because I COULD feel this stuff going thru my body!! I started to feel queazy. I asked the nurse-lady.... "Am I supposed to feel queazy?" ... She said, yes. It was normal, but wouldn't last long. Thankfully, it didn't... but, then I started to feel the pain that I had felt back when all this started!!! I also started to get a headache. All this lasted for about 20 minutes. The pain and the queaziness went away, but I still felt a little "light-headed". Of course, I hadn't eaten or drank anything since 10:00 last night... so, NO WONDER!! 

She helped me get up and told me that I should hear from my doctor Monday with the results. Then, she told me to GO EAT!! Yay!! I sloooooowly made my way down the loooonnnnng hall to one of the hospital cafe' areas. I got a Chick-fil-a sandwich, called Hubby, and waited until I felt well enough to drive home.

Now, the waiting begins (again) for the results!

Bucket List #76-78

#76 --- Convert our family VHS tapes into DVD's --- This is something that I have tried to figure out how to do for YEARS now, and can't seem to figure out how do it. I want to do it myself so that I can edit the DVD's as I make them. We have a DVD/VCR Recorder that is supposed to be able to do what I need, but neither Hubby nor I, can figure have ever been able to figure it out! I even bought some "do-hicky" thing that attaches my VCR to my computer.... but, that came with very "minimal" instructions and I could never figure out how to do it either! This is a project that I have put on the "back burner", but still want very badly to accomplish. I just don't know HOW to do it! It's frustrating!!

#77 --- Finish scrap-booking my photos --- I used to be ADDICTED to scrap-booking!! I pretty much did it 24/7 - no joke! I still have ALLLLLLLLLLLL the supplies, too. I even converted my dining room into a Scrap-booking Room! (Photos below) I also tried my hand at starting my own Scrap-booking business.... but... that didn't go so well. I was the Scrap-booking QUEEN for many years. The year that I stopped was the year that my mom had her stroke. Her having a stroke turned my world upside down! Because I am an only child and my dad passed away when I was 18... I am the only family (basically) that my mom has. So, my focus had to completely shift to her needs.

Anyway... it's now been 4 1/2 years since her stroke, and I am finally getting the scrap-booking "bug" again! I have 6 photo boxes full of photos, PLUS... lots and lots downloaded on my computer that I would like to scrapbook. My plan is to actually "scrapbook" the ones that are in the photo boxes, and then "digitally" (a new... really cool... technology!) scrapbook the ones that are in my computer.

These photos are a little out-dated and the room is a little different. But, not much!

#78 --- Save all of my pictures that are on my computer to a zip drive --- I have been doing this for a while now. I think I might ask for one of these for Christmas, tho --- a 1TB (whatever that is!!) External Hard Drive. It has MUCH more room than my tiny zip drive!

Proving My Point

In my previous "Bucket List" blog post #75 - (De-clutter my house and get rid of unnecessary things)... I mentioned that I get emotionally attached to "things". Well, I decided to prove to you that I have a hard time throwing things away. Chester, my 4 month old puppy, LOVES his soft, squeaky toys! His first one was a puppy dog with a basketball on his tummy.  - No joking! Then, I bought him two other soft toys --- a pink piggy and a turkey. Well... as you can see below... the basketball puppy is now losing it's stuffing and the turkey..... well.... it's been decapitated and there are "neck strings" all over my house!! (Luckily, the Pink Piggy is still intact!) My mind knows that I need to throw these raggedy things away, but my heart is having a hard time being able to do that! But... I guess, since I now have a picture of these two special little things, I can toss them. **Sigh**  Looks like a trip to PetSmart is in order for some new toys! My "baby" needs them!

Bucket List #73-75

#73 --- Learn more about gardening --- I'm not talking about "vegetable" gardening. I'm talking about flowers, grass, trees, and things that make my yard something to enjoy looking at! I love flowers and pretty plants, but I don't know much about "gardening".... which really means knowing how to take care of them and also how, when & where to plant them. I have never had a "green thumb", but I want one!!

#74 --- Live in a Master Planned Community someday --- This is mine & Hubby's vision for after our girls have moved out and are settled somewhere. Then, we can begin to look for a home in one of these type communities. Master Planned Communities are basically "pre-planned" little "cities". They are more than just a subdivision. In addition to homes, they have parks, stores, lakes, golf courses, bike paths, walking trails, club houses, pools, and many other fun amenities. Hubby and I want to live in a place where we can ride our bikes everywhere and have plenty of things to do. I can't wait to live in a place like this! I'm ready NOW!

#75 --- De-clutter my house and get rid of unnecessary things --- This is something that I try and try to do ALL THE TIME! I do get rid of things often, but not nearly as often as I should! No. I am NOT a hoarder! I am just very sentimental and have a hard time letting go of things. I have dreams about my house being completely ORGANIZED! My dream is to have everything "contained" in some way or another. But.... that requires buying "containers" and then you are adding a cost into it. And I wouldn't want just just any container. If it is a container that is going to be "seen", then it will need to be decorative. Decorative containers can be expensive. Containers that are not seen, can be plastic and cheap. --- But, they still need to be bought! ~~ Where's that money tree???

Bucket List #70-72

#70 --- Take some cooking classes --- I have never "enjoyed" cooking. I have always looked at it as a "chore". Well.... maybe I have enjoyed it a time or two. But, I have also never really been very good at it. At least I've never been told that I was a good cook. Although... I think I have my friend, Valerie, fooled into thinking that I am! Haahaaaa! The other day, we were together we saw an apron... kinda' like this one, but much cuter!....   

.... I joked that I needed this apron, because it was true!

I think cooking lessons would be fun and a VERY useful thing to do. I think Hubby and the girls would appreciate it, too. I'm sure that they get tired of eating the same 'ol thing, week after week! I know, I do!

#71 --- Take salsa dancing classes --- I have heard that the latest and greatest thing is ZUMBA. I don't know exactly what ZUMBA is, but from what I understand... it is basically.... SALSA DANCING, which I think would be fun to learn and GREAT exercise!! I am pretty sure that Hubby would NOT agree to going with me. Guess I gotta' do this one on my own! OR.... Maybe if I told him that you get FREE SALSA with every dance, he'd go with me!! He loves SALSA! ~ Nah. I don't think that would work.

                                                              

#72 --- Learn how to quilt --- I kinda' already know how, but not really. I know the basics, but have never really sewn a quilt. I did make Dtr. #1 a quilt one time because she wanted a "Bug" room... (Yes... you heard me right!) ... and we couldn't find a comforter or "quilt" that was "cute". This was several years ago, when "Bug-themed" things were "in". So.... I decided that I would make her one! It actually turned out rather cute! It is a "Tie Quilt", meaning that you tie the fabric together with pieces of thread to keep the batting from "bunching". --- I know... lots of "quilting" words being thrown around, here! Here's a photo of it ---

                                    

Recently, while going thru some of my mom's things... I came across her quilt that she had been working on for as long as I can remember! It was stored in Hubby's shop, along with her other things that she doesn't have room for now that she is in a nursing home. I pulled it out of it's box and got to looking at it, and thought... "I can do this! It's not hard AT ALL!"  There was a rather good-sized piece that was done, along with some smaller pieces and LOTS of extra pieces of material! I decided to sew the pieces together ... (HAND sew, by the way!) ... and then add some other pieces until it made a "throw blanket" size quilt. Here is the finished result --- 

                                        

This is called a "Cathedral Window" quilt. The colored pieces of fabric are very special to me because many are from dresses that my mom made for me when I was little. Other pieces are older than that and I am sure have some sort of family history behind them, as well.

Dtr. #1 and I have been working on making another quilt, like this one, for my mom. I am keeping this one for myself because of the sentimental value of it... and I really wouldn't want something this special to be misplaced in the wash at my mom's nursing home, or ruined by who-knows-what!!

Anyway.... back to my original thought here... I would like to learn to quilt so I can make quilts like this. This kind is done on a machine, which is something that I've never done.

                                 

I love quilts! They are so beautiful and colorful! Some of the most beautiful quilts that I have ever seen were up in the Amish area of Lancaster Pennsylvania!! Now, THOSE ladies know how to quilt! My Mother-n-law makes beautiful quilts, too. I'll have to post pictures of the ones that she made for each of us (and the ones that I saw in Lancaster!) on here at some point. ~ Beautiful!